The importance of employee training and retention strategies of healthcare professionals for effective service delivery : a case study of Manama Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The overall aim of the study was to investigate the importance of employee training and retention strategies of Health Care Professionals for effective service delivery at Manama Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe. The main problem was the increased rate of Health Care Professionals migration in Zimbabwe due to economic and social issues. This has led to poor service delivery in Health Care Institutions. Against this background, the literature suggests that organisations should offer relevant employee training, as well as retention strategies to ensure that employees remain in the organisation for a longer period, thus improving service delivery. The study was conducted at Manama Mission Hospital in Zimbabwe. This hospital is run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ), with the assistance of the Ministry of Health and Child Care. The study adopted a quantitative research design and pre-coded structured closed-ended questionnaires were administered to the target population. The target population for the study was 110 healthcare professionals at Manama Mission Hospital and a survey method was employed. A significant response rate of 89% was obtained using the personal method of data collection. The responses to the questionnaire were captured and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0 for Windows. Several hypotheses were formulated and tested using Pearson’s chi-square; Spearman’s rank order co-efficient; Pearson’s Product-moment Correlation Co-efficient; and Fisher’s exact test. The main findings revealed that employee training did contribute to the effectiveness of service delivery at Manama Mission Hospital. The findings also revealed that retention strategies contribute to an improved service delivery at Manama Mission Hospital. The recommendations suggest that the management of Manama Mission Hospital should support the implementation of training programs, offer rewards for good performance, provide adequate resources and offer feedback for the training provided. The TURNITIN program was used to test the entire thesis for plagiarism. The study concludes with suggestions for further research in this field.